Compendium of Curiosities, Challenge 23!

Double Distress

Sponsored by Simon Says Stamp!

Now that's a Grungy Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving week, everyone, and welcome to the "official" beginning of the holiday season! When I think about the many things I'm grateful for, one of the most important is this challenge and the opportunity it's given me to meet so many incredible artists who've now become incredible friends as well! Thank you all for sharing your talent, your humor and your words with me. I'm humbled every single day by the beauty you create and the heart and soul you put into your art, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for allowing me to share this experience with you.

You guys are awesome!

This week's challenge will really allow you to "Get your grunge on!" It's fun, it's easy, it's quick, and it's a great way to bang out a stack of holiday cards in a short period of time. Check out page 40 of Tim Holtz's A Compendium of Curiosities for instructions on how to Double Distress!

By popular vote, we've moving into two-week-long sessions for the next three Challenges, meaning you'll have extra time to play and experiment (or just drink egg nog, which is also very important). And since it's the season of giving, I decided to throw in a little extra incentive to keep playing along during these extended Challenges.

So, everyone who posts at least one entry for all three Challenges during the holidays will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 dollar gift certificate to the CCC sponsor of their choice! It's my way of saying thanks for fitting these challenges in during a time of year when most of us barely have time to breathe. The winner of the $50 will be announced on January 3.

Of course, each individual challenge will still have its own prize from one of our illustrious, Santa-like sponsors!

Here's the schedule, to make it easier:

• Challenge 23: Today (November 22) through December 5
• Challenge 24: December 6 through December 19
• Challenge 25: December 20 through January 2

We'll be back on a weekly schedule beginning with Challenge 26 on January 3.

As for this week, the ever-awesome ladies at Simon Says Stamp are throwing down one of their spectacular $25 gift certificates to the winner of Challenge 23! Happy holidays, for sure!

(Don't forget the check out the awesome Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge, too. You're welcome to combine the challenges as long as your piece fits the criteria for both!)

To be eligible to win this this very timely Simon Says Stamp shopping spree, simply create your own art using the Double Distress technique and link it to this blog via the InLinkz button at the bottom of this post. You're in the running as long as you honor these two simple rules:

1. Follow the technique as it's written in A Compendium of Curiosities (adding your own special flair, of course!); and

2. Out of respect to Tim, please don't post the technique instructions on your blog!

As always, the gorgeous Gloria, List Mom at the All Things Tim group at Yahoo, will also send a cool gift from her special stash to one of this week's participants! Just upload your image to the Compendium of Curiosities folder at the ATT home page, and be sure to tag your photo "CCC #23."

Challenge 23 is open until 8 PM Mountain Time on Sunday, December 5, and the winners will be announced super early the following morning, right before the next Challenge is posted.

Have a great time, guys! I'm really looking forward to seeing your creations!

Hugs,
Linda
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